Assigotob to skinner engine



n. c. STEVENS. MEANS FOR HEATING THE PISTONS 0F STEAM ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED JWG. 4,1916- RVENEWED JUNE 7, I9I 9.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

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Qktoz 11214 :TT STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT .C. STEVENS,OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 'IO SKINNER ENGINE COMPANY, F ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION.

MEANS FOR HEATING THE PISTONS OI STEAM-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Sept. a, 19m.

Application filed august 4, 1916, Serial No. 113,084. Renewed'Iune '7, 1919. Serial Ito. 302,631.

To'all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Roster C. STEVENS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Erie, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Heating'the Pistons of Steam-Engines, of

- which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for heating the pistons of steam engines, and has for one of its objects to provide improved means the cylinder.

for producing a circulation of steam through the hollow piston of a steam enine. The invention comprises a tail rod attached to the piston, and provided with inlet and outlet passages the former of which communicates, by a branch or pilot tube anda tail-rod chamber with themain pipe of'the' engine, and the latter of which is connected by a pipe to the hollow steam heated head of A further object of the invention is to provide an improved chamber or casing in which the tail rod works, and to provide improved means for packing the tail rodagainst the cylinder pressure and against the pressure in said chamber.-

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a uniflow cylinder provided withthe improvement. Fig. 2 is a detail in section of. the inlet passage to the hollow head.

The invention is shown applied to a uniflow engine, that is, one in which t e steam is admitted at one end of the cylin er and exhausted at the end of the expansion stroke, through a port or ports distant lengthwise of the cylinder from the inlet port, and usually inlet pipe 13. The former communicates with the interior of the piston through a pipe 14, and the latter through a passage 15.

The hollow tail rod works through the cylinder head, and at its outer end reciprocates in a cylindrical tail-rod chamber or casing 16. This is supported at a distance mm the cylinder head by a yoke 17 bolted to the cylinder head as indicated at 18. A

sleeve 19 forms a continuation of the chamand the gland around the same packs the tail rod for the cylinder pressure as well. as for the pressure 1n the chamber .16, said sleeve, as shown, bridg ng the space between the cylinder head and the chamber referred to.

A pilot tube 23, having an inlet elbow 24 with its 'mouth directed oppositely to the flow of-steam, leads from the main steam plpe 7 to the outer end ofthe chamber 16, and an exhaust pipe 25 leads from, said chamber, near its outer end, to the hollow head 9. The'annular space in the tail rod, around the pipe 13, is closed by a'plug 30, and the tail rod has a port 31 which may re ister with the pipe 25.

n operation, at each opening of the inlet valve-8, there is a rush of steam through the steam p1pe7, which creates an impulse and flow through the elbow 24: and pipe 23 to the outer end of the chamber 16, and thence through the pipe 13 into the hollow piston, and at or about the same time the port 31, in the tail rod, registers with the pipe 25 and exhausts the flow or impulse out of the piston through the hollow piston rod and pipe 25 into the hollow cylinder head. In other words, when the inlet valve 8 opens, there is an lnstant decrease of pressure in the hollow head 9 and the steam chest. This momentary reduction of pressure, as compared to the inlet pipe 7 induces a flow through the piston and tail'rodat the time the inlet valve 8 is opened and this action is assisted by the rush of steam in the pipe 7 and the bell mouth 2 1 of the pipe 23 and the pumping action of the tail rod. At each reciprocation of the piston there is therefore driving or forcing ache invention is not limited to the particular structures shown and described, but various modifications may be made wlthin the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a c linder having a steam chest and a tail rod 0 amber, a steam inlet pi e to the steam chest, a connection from said pipe to the said chamber, an outlet connection from said chamber to the steam chest, and a hollow piston in the cylinder having a tail rod working in said chamber and provided with inlet and outlet passages communicating with the interior of the piston, the former communicating with said 'chamber and the latter having a port adapted to communicate with said outlet connection.

2. The combination of a cylinder having a tail rod chamber, a steam chest, an inlet valve from the steam chest to the cylinder, a hollow' piston in the cylinder, having a tail rod operating in said chamber and provided with a assage connecting said chamber with the mterior of the piston, a steam supply pipe to'the steam chest, a branch pipe connecting said supply pipe and chamber and having a mouth projecting into the path of steam flow in said supply plpe, and means to ermit the exhaust of steam from the intenor of the piston, through said tail rod to r the steam chest.

accessible at the space between said cylinder and chamber, and means to permit the exhaust of steam from the iston.

4. The combination of a cylinder having a recessed head, a tail rod steam chamber opposite said head, a sleeve projecting from said chamber into said recess, a packing gland between said sleeve and the wall of the recess, and a hollow iston in the cylinder having a tail rod wor ring in said sleeve and chamber and provided with an inlet passage from said chamber to the interior of the piston, and means to permit outflow of steam from the piston.

5. The combination of a cylinder, a steam chest, an inlet valve between the cylinder and steam chest, a steam supply pipe to the steam chest, a hollow piston in the cylinder, an inlet passage fromthe steam supply pipe into the piston, and an exhaust passage from the piston to the steam chest, provided with a port which is opened by the movement of the piston at the time when the pressure in the steam chest is reduced by the opening of the said inlet valve.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT C. STEVENS.

Witnesses:

H. E. CoBURN, HARRY G. ADAM. 

